Nadler boycott was wrong
To The Editor:
Re “Nadler, Velaz snub Trump inauguration” (news article, Jan. 19)”:
Congressman Jerrold Nadler in his released statement on why he was refusing to attend the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump stated that he could not “in good conscience participate in this honored and revered democratic tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.”
Does this mean that Senator Schumer, the rest of the senators, Secretary Clinton and the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives have “bad” consciences, or perhaps no conscience? I think not.
Mr. Nadler’s duty — not his job, but his duty — as an elected federal representative was to be present at this peaceful passing of the torch from one administration to the next. His absence was a slap in the face to this “honored and revered democratic tradition,” as put forth in the Constitution of the United States. I voted for Mr. Nadler in every one of his runs for Congress; I’ll have to rethink my vote in 2018.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney got it right when she stated that she was attending the inauguration “out of respect” for the peaceful transition. Brava, Ms. Maloney, brava. Mr. Nadler should be ashamed of himself for his absence. I know I am.
Linda Franklin
Covering protests fairly
To The Editor:
Re “Trump gets blasted at anti-nuclear war protest” (news article, Jan. 26):
Lincoln Anderson, thank you so much for your excellent coverage of our event. You and The Villager are one of the few media outlets that report on protests that do not involve arrests and burning limos.
John Penley
Yo! Move it, Melania!
To The Editor:
Mr. Trump and his family could and should be living in the White House, and New York Police Department protection of his home or businesses — which is costing the taxpayers of New York $1 million per day — should now end. Unlike every other first family with school-aged children, Melania Trump is refusing to move with her son to the White House. She should not be handing New York City the bill for her decision to compromise her role as first lady and put her family ahead of the families of the nation.
In the first debate, Mr. Trump proudly said he didn’t pay taxes because “the money would just be squandered.” I can think of no worse way to squander New York City’s tax dollars than spending $1 million a day on Melania and Barron Trump because they elect to live on Fifth Ave. instead of in the White House.
Thousands of parents in New York City and the rest of the country make the hard decision to move and uproot their families due to financial considerations, at great personal anguish, for far more compelling reasons and get no government assistance. In fact, Mr. Trump just suspended the Federal Housing Administration mortgage cuts, probably making such moves more likely as more families may now face foreclosure.
The Trumps, who complain that the previous administration enriched itself and not the taxpayers, should not enrich themselves by accepting free security that they can well afford to hire privately, especially when Melania’s decision to remain in New York is purely elective.
Let the Trumps train some of the “forgotten American workers who are to be forgotten no longer,” as private security guards, and let the N.Y.P.D. focus on people with far more compelling problems than deciding which mansion they want to inhabit.
Lauren Shapiro
Bikes before cars
To The Editor:
Re “On 14th St., cycling will save us once again” (talking point, by Yuki Courtland and Paul Steely White, Jan. 19):
I live at 14th St. and First Ave. I usually cycle to get around, usually on Citi Bike. It is amazing how frequently the Citi Bike stations around Stuy Town are empty or almost empty. Clearly, many people are cycling.
When the L train shuts down, the problem will be how to move people, not automobiles. More people ride bikes when they feel safe, as with protected bike lanes.
Clearly, putting protected bike lanes on 14th St. is a good idea, even if the L was not being shut down. But with the shutdown, it needs to be part of the solution, along with increased buses and ferries.
Cut space for cars
To The Editor:
Re “On 14th St., cycling will save us once again” (talking point, by Yuki Courtland and Paul Steely White, Jan. 19):
Less than 24 percent of households in Manhattan — households! — own a car. Yet we dedicate more than 35 percent of our surface space to drivers. Why are we letting car owners drive the decision-making on how we design our streets?
We now have an opportunity to show what a real, complete street could look like, including real bus rapid transit rather than the sorry excuse of a Select Bus Service system that we have today.
No more sharing lanes with cars, no more mixing all forms of transit willy-nilly. Now we can have lanes for bikers, lanes for buses and expanded space for pedestrians. Also, just picture the drop in noise level as a result of banning automobile traffic from 14th St.! Ahhh!
I tune and repair pianos. As a cyclist who uses his own bike for his business, I would love to have access to a large street, like 14th, for crosstown trips to my various tuning clients. Think of that! I’ll be bringing more business to your community as a result of safer streets for riding. I often go out to eat or do shopping in the areas where I tune, either before or after the work I do. So, this is also good for business.
As to where the cars go, well, there are studies about that. People were really worried when the park drives in Central Park were closed to automobile traffic. The fact is, when you close the roads, the drivers make other decisions and the traffic in the vicinity does not worsen, in spite of what some people might believe.
This is an excellent opportunity for us to experiment with a different way to use our roads here in New York City. If it works, we can expand the concept to other streets, such as 34th, 42nd and maybe even 125th St.! What a relief that would be!
Martin Wallace
D’Agnammit!
To The Editor:
What is going on with D’Agostino and their senior discount?
I applied weeks ago and my approval still has not gone through. Even worse, the customer has no way of knowing this until your sale rings up. Today I deliberately spent more than $30 (the amount required to get the 10 percent senior discount) only to discover my application had not yet been approved. What?
When I complained to the manager at the store on Bethune and Greenwich St., he said they had no way of checking on my application and they were backed up. This is messed up and not good customer service. D’Ag’s customers were loyal during their troubles this summer. We deserve better.
It is really unfortunate Mrs. Green’s went out of business.
Kate Walter
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